17 FC soldiers killed by taliban

[nitesh]

This is what is needed - for Pakistanis to realize what a menace and evil the Taliban are and rise up against them, and demand that the GoP enforce the rule of law everywhere. If that requires military force, then so be it.

AM, I personally feel this is not the right way. Taking arms against arms. People should not encourage this sort of things. To kill the evil you need not to be evil.

Instead people should actively support army/police by giving information about the terrorists.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

AM, I personally feel this is not the right way. Taking arms against arms. People should not encourage this sort of things. To kill the evil you need not to be evil.

Instead people should actively support army/police by giving information about the terrorists.

I would agree with you Nitesh, except that the situation in the Tribal areas is a bit different. Also, Taliban propagandists state that Pakistanis and the Tribals welcome them and want them in their territory, and the government is targeting them for no reasons - so these kinds of "local actions" counter that propaganda.

Now I think that the GoP, after seeing the response from locals, should take matters into its own hands and do its job - which is to enforce the writ of the state, and it can do so knowing that the locals support it.

 

[dr.umer]

I would agree with you Nitesh, except that the situation in the Tribal areas is a bit different. Also, Taliban propagandists state that Pakistanis and the Tribals welcome them and want them in their territory, and the government is targeting them for no reasons - so these kinds of "local actions" counter that propaganda.

Now I think that the GoP, after seeing the response from locals, should take matters into its own hands and do its job - which is to enforce the writ of the state, and it can do so knowing that the locals support it.

Well said AM, but i dont understand that why GOP soon after starting Operation goes on dialogue table. Should they not finish what they started? I think (correct me if i am wrong) that dialogue process was underway when this incident happened. I think taliban have different types as well. Some willing to talk and some not willing to talk. As a matter of fact non-cooperative Taliban should never be approached for talks.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Hangu gloomy even on third day of FC martyrdom​

Updated at: 1500 PST, Monday, July 14, 2008
HANGU: Gloominess remained overcast here and the surrounding areas even on the third day of the martyrdom of 17 Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel, while another local Jirga has stepped up efforts for restoring peace.

FC personnel were martyred in an ambush by the extremists while on way back here, which had turned the atmosphere highly tense and the army is still on the third day holding control at Duaba, while the fresh contingent has also arrived from Peshawar. Curfew remains clamped at Duaba, but the trading at Hangu Bazaar is limping back to normalcy, as several shops were seen open.

Union Nazim, Khan Afzal told Geo News that the Jirga comprising of local elders and ulemas has stepped up efforts for maintaining peace and hoped that the members of Jirga today would meet the administration including Taliban leaders. Khan Afzal told that Taliban claimed to have 29 persons in their custody and the Jirga would be holding talks for their release.
Hangu gloomy even on third day of FC martyrdom

I think it is important to note the change in tone and verbiage of the media

The News was notorious for being so anti-Government during Musharraf's time that rarely would one find references to soldiers or paramilitaries killed as "martyred".

Now articles like these are becoming commonplace, and I believe a large part of this is owed to having elections widely considered free and fair, the prudent decisions of Kiyani to distance the Army from almost all civilian roles, and the ability of the GoP to implement policies as it saw fit.

The media needs to continue to step up (some analysts within the media have suggested that harsher criticism of extremists is not forthcoming from journalists due to fear and/or sympathies with the Taliban) and highlight the atrocities and violence these groups are committing.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

FC personnel’s families to get Rs1m each​

By Our Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, Jul 13: The government on Sunday announced compensation for families of the FC personnel killed in an ambush by Taliban militants in Hangu on Saturday.

According to a statement, Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik announced Rs1 million compensation for families of each deceased and Rs2 million for the family of FC District Officer Karim Khan.

The adviser said the name of Karim Khan would be recommended to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani for the Sitara-i-Shujaat award.

Karim Khan and his companions were killed by Taliban militants while coming back after attending a jirga in Hangu.

Mr Malik paid tributes to the martyrs and expressed sympathy with the bereaved families and pledged that the culprits would be brought to justice.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/07/14/nat4.htm

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While the monetary awards to the families of the martyred troops is welcome, the recommendation for the Sitara-i-Shujaat is even more important.

It serves as a strong reminder that what our soldiers are doing is the right thing, and is in the service and interest of the nation. The symbolism also reverberates strongly in a society that places so much emphasis on 'honor'.

The GoP should take such measures in every situation where the Security Forces make military contact with extremists.